Proximity detectors are known in the art and three basic types of proximity detectors exist, namely electromagnetic, optical and ultrasonic. Electromagnetic proximity detectors may be subdivided into inductive and capacitive types. Most inductive proximity detectors respond to the presence of any metal object, although ferrous metals give the best response (about two-thirds higher than for non-ferrous metals).
One common principal of operation for inductive proximity detectors involves the use of an eddy current killed oscillator (ECKO). The oscillator is in the form of a tuned LC tank circuit amplifier. A sensor coil and ferrite core form the inductor. The amplifier provides just enough positive feedback to make the circuit oscillate in the RF range. When a metal object is positioned near the detector, the RF field causes eddy currents to flow in the surface of the metal object. When the metal object reaches a predetermined proximity to the detector, (depending on the detector sensitivity), the load caused by the eddy currents is enough to disable the oscillator. A level detector is connected to the oscillator for producing an output signal. Usually, a certain amount of hysteresis (differential travel) is built into the detector. The purpose of the hysteresis is to prevent chatter when the metal object is positioned right at the oscillation threshold point of the oscillator.
Although these inductive proximity detectors are suitable for detecting the presence of a metal object, when using these types of detectors to detect the presence of a portion of an individual, such as a hand, the inductive detection methods yield non-linearities that result in large errors. Because the human hand represents an irregular reflective surface, optical and ultrasonic proximity detectors are also unsuitable.
Capacitive proximity detectors have been used to detect the presence of a human hand. In these prior art capacitive proximity detectors, differential capacitive arrangements have been implemented wherein the centre plate of the capacitive arrangement is formed by the hand to be detected. Human tissue exhibits certain electrical properties (such as relatively low impedance to surrounding grounds at 100 kHZ), which are sufficient to make such arrangements practical. In capacitive arrangements of this nature, the centre plate (constituted by the hand) is maintained at ground potential and two fixed capacitors are provided in a complex bridge configuration. Unfortunately, these prior art capacitive proximity detectors are bulky, complex and have significant power requirements.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel proximity detector.